Soul -- Recently Added -- CD  

A great step into the 80s for The Pointer Sisters -- a record that has them bringing in themes that are a bit more soulful than some of their previous efforts! The album's still got all the big crossover potential of their other hits -- but the groove's got a solidly soulful vibe overall -- plenty ...

A huge crossover moment for The Pointer Sisters -- thanks to their mega-hit version of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire", which helped sell about a gazillion copies of the record! The sound of that hit pretty much sums up the overall style of the album -- as the trio delivers a number of smooth ...

The Gap Band are definitely Jammin on this sweet little set from the early 80s -- hitting that fierce funk mode they do so well, with lots of snapping lines at the bottom of the rhythms! The style is trademark Gap all the way through -- a percolated approach to funk that's tight, but never too ...

A huge breakthrough from Levert -- the group's third album, and a record that's filled with some really top-shelf R&B for the time! The tracks are a great transition in soul styles -- classic harmony vocal sounds, produced with a slowjam style that's totally great -- a bit like quiet storm of ...

An oft-overlooked jazzy gem from Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson -- and a beautifully swinging session that has Gil toning it down a bit, and working into a nicely musical groove that gets past the heavy politics of earlier years! The record's a great showcase for the more upbeat side of Gil's ...

A bit dated, but an indisputable classic from Cameo -- one that has them changing up their sound from earlier albums! The heavier funk of some of their late 70s sides is long gone, and in its place is a more stripped-down style that relies more on electric percussion and keyboards to update their ...

A killer start to the 80s for the Dazz Band -- with great tunes in a funky mode as well as more measured group soul numbers -- and it all adds up one of their best albums ever! Tunes like the opener "Shake It", plus "Shake It Up" and "Magnetized" bring the funkier ...

Mad funk from one of the heaviest cats on the early 70s Detroit scene -- guitar legend Dennis Coffey, finally given his due in a long-overdue collection of his best grooves for Sussex Records! Coffey's guitar has a sound that's been sampled countless times over the past 20 years -- a raspy way of ...

Dazz Band keep it plenty live on this early 80s gem -- a killer set from the group's hit run for Motown! The set's got a bouncy groove that's very much in the best Motown funk style at the time -- lots of bass at the bottom, and plenty tight on production -- but never as smooth or commercial as ...

The never-before released full album from keyboardist Manzel Bush -- the legendary 70s funk figure well-remembered for his classic break tracks! As a whole, the album's a masterpiece of spacey keyboards and funky drums -- funkier than just about any other record we can think of from the late 70s! ...

Genius jazzy soul from Webster Lewis -- one of his amazing late 70s sets for Epic Records! By this point in his career, Lewis had honed his keyboard craft to perfection -- and on albums like this one, he laid down some excellent smooth soulful fusion that soared in a righteous way that few other ...

The amazing second album from The Soul Searchers -- even harder, funkier, and rarer than the first! This one blows away everything else the group have ever done -- as the record has an angular approach that has the band taking a lot of weird twists with the grooves, creating these dark jazzy edges ...

Steve Marshall towers above the 70s San Francisco skyline on the cover of this record -- and the set features some equally towering grooves to match! The style here is a bit unusual -- kind of a west coast take on the underground modes of the P&P empire out east, mixed with a bit of soul jazz - ...

One of the most comprehensive collections of work we've ever seen on Eddie Bo -- a really well-done set that finally gets at the full range of his massive funky talents -- including a host of rare singles done for a variety of other artists as well! Despite the dates in the title, most of the ...

A holy grail of funky music -- the one and only album ever cut by Marie Queenie Lyons, a heck of a hard soul single who's best known for her rare funky 45s! The album is stunning -- every bit as great as any of Marie's singles, and with an incredibly unified sound that should have made the album ...

Phyllis Hyman's nicely balanced here between the two key sides of her early career at its best -- working with straight soul production from Chuck Jackson, and slightly more complicated grooves handled by Norman Connors! The pair really bring a nice sense of balance to the record, and in a way the ...

Smooth modern duets from one of our favorite ladies in soul music! Jean Carne's a heck of a singer -- with a career that stretches back to early soul jazz recordings with (then) husband Doug Carn, to solo recordings on Philly International in the late 70s, to appearances on records by other ...

Rare work by the late Phyllis Hyman -- a killer collection of obscure sides from some of the best projects of her career, plus some additional titles that have never been issued before! In a world of endless "best of" collections of Phyllis' work, this set is a real gem -- a package that ...

Warmly grooving vocal work from Howard Johnson -- one of the few albums the singer cut under his own name, and a sparkling gem from the 80s groove scene! Howard's got a style that really sets the stage for some of the bigger singers of his time -- a sound that's mature, yet still very able to ...

A massive exploration of the music of Kashmere Stage Band -- the legendary Texas funk combo whose work has been pushed heavily over the years by Wax Poetics, Stones Throw, and many others! The double-length set goes even deeper than any of the vinyl reissues of work by the group -- and features ...

One of the heaviest albums ever made -- and a monstrous bit of organ funk that never gets old! The Mohawks were a one-off studio group led by arranger/keyboardist Alan Hawkshaw (the "hawk" in the Mohawk name), and they're working here in a mad London mix of beat group grooving, soul jazz ...

A killer side project from Roy Ayers -- recorded right around the same time as the Ramp album, but with a different feel over all -- proof that the Ayers empire was really exploding at the end of the 70s! The vibe here is quite similar to some of Roy's own albums over at Polydor -- a great balance ...

Some of the most righteous soul of the 70s -- the first two albums by Bill Withers, back to back on one CD, and with bonus tracks! Bill had a sound like nobody else -- a blend of folksy guitar, deeply soulful vocals, spare funky backings, and the occasional touch of strings and larger ...

An overlooked gem from California soul singer Marilyn Scott -- a sweetly grooving album with loads of warm modern touches -- all coming together in a style that's sophisticated, yet still manages to groove -- like the best later work by Marlena Shaw on Columbia! Production is by James Stroud -- ...

2 classics from The Blackbyrds -- back to back on a single CD! City Life is a fantastic album from the legendary jazz funk combo -- a bit smoother than their first, but that's the great thing about it! The record has the band getting even tighter than before -- coming up with an amazing jazz-infle ...

It must have cost Barrabas plenty to make the heart-shaped manhole on the cover of this album -- but given the sound of the grooves, the money was well worth it! The set's a fair bit tighter than their earliest work from Spain -- but also a great direction for their styles -- one that's nicely ...

Early work from Gwen Guthrie -- produced by Sly & Robbie, but with a sweet modern soul sound that's got a lot less of their influence than you'd guess! The sound is much more New York than Jamaica -- and that's probably due to some great instrumental backing on keyboards by the likes of Harry ...

A mini-LP, but one that packs more punch than most full length sets -- thanks to a top-shelf lineup all the way through! The set's a project put together by Sly & Robbie, and recorded at Compass Point Studios -- all with a groove that's kind of a dubbier take on the sound of New York ...

A lost little gem from the Rick James camp -- a bit obscure, despite the fact that Val's a former Bride Of Funkenstein! Val's not as well known as some of the other artists that Rick James worked with back in the 80s -- but given her resume, she's got a solidly soulful sound that works perfectly ...

A great lost bit of 80s groove -- the one and only album from Network, a bouncing funky soul outfit that followed strongly in the spirit of BB&Q Band, Mtume, and other 80s groove heroes! The sound here is upbeat and positive -- lots of bass and keys in the instrumentation, and joyous vocals ...

The debut from Rafael Cameron -- a pretty soulful set for Salsoul produced by Brass Connection's Randy Muller! Cameron's got a nice deep soul sound to his vocals, and although the arrangements are uptempo and clubby on some tracks, they're not there to cover up the singing, and have a nice soulful ...

One of the best ever records from Twennynine -- produced and arranged by Lenny White & Larry Dunn -- jazzy modern soul at it's dawn of the decade finest! Twennynine With Lenny White is way at the front of the pack of a lot of the 80s groove elements to follow in its wake -- with popping ...

Jazzy soul all the way through -- and a great little album from Lenny White and the Twennynine combo -- a group that features some especially great keyboards from the great Don Blackman! The style here's a bit like some of Blackman's own work -- rooted in fusion, but focused towards soul -- with ...

A tremendous debut from Ace Spectrum -- a harmony quartet who never cracked the charts as much as some of their east coast contemporaries, but who were every bit as great as the bigger names on the east coast scene! The album's got a soaring sound that's strongly influenced by Philly, but recorded ...

They definitely got the "hot guitar funk" part right -- as Eddie's one of the hippest, tightest, funkiest players of his generation -- and this collection is overflowing with great work from his classic years at Sussex Records! Eddie's sound on the guitar is often choppy, always rhythmic ...

Sly soul from the great King Curtis -- one of his last albums ever, and one of his best as well! There's a hip sort of edge to the record that's different from the Curtis groove of the mid 60s -- less standard soul instrumental covers, and a much more righteous feel overall -- part of the vibe ...

Incredible work from Roy Hamilton -- a range of wonderful tunes from Roy's 60s years, a time when he was really reinventing the sound of his music! Hamilton first burst onto the scene in the 50s -- a singer with an incredible voice, but one that was used in more mainstream pursuits. Yet by the ...

Rafael was one of Salsoul's best acts in the early 80s -- and he had a soulful sound that was mixed with a lot of 80s electro grooving, spun out over tightly written songs with hooks that were nice and tight. Sure, there's a lot of tinny keyboards and bass pedal work, but the tracks are some of ...

Two amazing albums by Billy Paul -- both of which show he had a lot more to offer than just his bigger 70s hits! Going East is one of Billy Paul's greatest albums ever -- or perhaps the greatest -- an amazing blend of soul, jazz, and a soaring sense of spiritualism that's not only rare for Billy ...

An instant groove from King Curtis -- and a record that's even more deeply soulful than some of his other Atlantic albums! The title cut's a killer -- a hard-vamping number that pushed funk further into the mainstream back in the day -- and lots of the rest of the album follows suit, by bringing ...

Probably the best record the Staple Singers ever cut during the 70s -- as it makes a genius move by taking their rich vocal style and laying it over some excellent tracks written by Curtis Mayfield! The record's quite different than their usual Stax numbers, and has a Curtom groove that's hip and ...

The classic club album by Love Committee, and one of the most sought-after albums on Gold Mind/Salsoul -- a soulful set of club classics that almost beats most of the other work by its contemporaries! The session's grounded in some very solid help from the Sigma Sound team -- production and ...

A massive lost funk classic -- one of those rarer than rare albums that's well worth the funk! The Montgomery Express were a Florida combo who played on the state's small club circuit -- working equally well on their own, or backing up a number of better known singers. The group's got a diversity ...

The funkiest work ever cut by Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers -- a collection of the heaviest grooves from their two classic albums for Sussex Records! Consider the set a distillation of all that made Chuck great in the pre-GoGo years -- his incredible sense of rhythm, his fluid style of ...

Badass work from Martha Velez -- a rock singer at the core, but one with some plenty soulful touches! The album's a UK effort with help from a host of top-shelf talents at the time -- but the groove is pretty gritty, and almost has that key rock/funk crossover mode that female singers were hitting ...

A masterpiece of east coast harmony soul -- and worth it for the title cut alone! Ace Spectrum are always pretty great, but on this album, they really bust out of the box with some of the most wonderful harmonies they've ever recorded -- set to impeccable arrangements by Patrick Adams, who hits ...

Jazzy folk soul survivor Terry Callier returns to Mr Bongo with Hidden Conversations -- with Terry's soul searching lyricism, warm vocals, and mood setting acoustic guitar paired with laidback production by trip hop pioneer Robert Del Naha of Massive Attack! The styles work pretty well together -- ...

There's many facets of Roger -- and they're all pretty darn funky! From this vantage point, all we can think of is that Roger Troutman must have had some sort of crystal ball to see into the hip hop sampling future -- either that, or he was busy cooking up west coast gangster funk drones in some ...

A great start to the Marvin Gaye duet mode of the 60s -- an early pairing with Mary Wells, done back when she was one of the leading female singers at Motown! The style here is a bit more old school than some of the later Gaye duo albums -- but there's plenty of charm in the tunes, as the set ...

Perfect pivotal Bobby! The record still has the raspy southern soul edge of earlier albums, but it benefits from some great smooth funky backing, laid down at Muscle Shoals with a host of legendary studio giants like Clayton Ivey, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson, and Truman Thomas. Includes killer ...